I’ve always wanted to visit Auberge du Pommier, Michael Bonacini’s landmark Toronto restaurant, but haven’t gotten the chance. Yet. In the meantime, Thursday’s new episode of MasterChef Canada opened the doors on the property’s 30th anniversary and let the home cooks in to run the kitchen. The fact it was Auberge du Pommier was stressful enough but during the third decade of business? Crazy.

Not that their performance would sink the place—the restaurant takeovers are packed with network folks and special guests (including the Your Morning crew) of the production rather than paying customers—but still.

After a week off, “Auberge Anniversary,” returned with the Top 6 heading into the kitchen to prepare dishes for dinner service. Barrie and Aaron, who made the best Scotch eggs two weeks ago, were the captains of their teams. Barrie picked Trevor and Mai while Aaron chose Thea and Miranda. At first blush, it looked like Barrie had the best squad, a trio of folks who were not only strong in the kitchen but stellar at plating. But would tables of patrons cause them to wilt under the pressure and send Barrie’s team to the Pressure Test?

I must say that making two appetizers and two mains with just three people seemed like a daunting task … and a little unfair if you ask me. I hate it when culinary competitions throw a small number of cooks into a kitchen when the fact is a phalanx of chefs would be there during a full-on service. Still, it does make for good TV, and we certainly got that on Thursday. Duck consommé en croute, artichoke salad, beef tenderloin and ham-wrapped monkfish proved to be a challenge during prep and service to the 52 “customers.” In the early going, Barrie crumbled and Trevor stepped in to take over while Aaron was running a tight ship. Of course, the tide quickly changed for the mains and the beef tenderloins flummoxed both squads. Trevor’s meat wasn’t cooked enough and Aaron’s were just plain burned.

In the early going, Barrie crumbled and Trevor stepped in to take over while Aaron was running a tight ship. Of course, the tide quickly changed for the mains and beef tenderloins flummoxed both squads. Trevor’s meat wasn’t cooked enough and Aaron’s were just plain burned. Adding insult to injury? Chef Michael came back into the kitchen and told Aaron the error of his ways. The red team got their mains out and blue struggled to keep up, but then ironed out issues after Aaron let go of his pride and let Miranda help him. After the judges tasted plates from each team, they awarded the win to Barrie’s red team and blue were headed to the Pressure Test.

Moroccan vegetable tagine with herbed couscous was on tap for Aaron, Thea and Miranda, and only Aaron had any experience with it. But as much as he thought he knew what he was doing, Chef Claudio thought he was overthinking it. Miranda’s plate was given high marks from Claudio and Chef Alvin, Thea’s looked good but fell short on flavour and she was convinced she was headed home. Claudio and Michael criticized Aaron’s tagine for having too much clove in it and making the plate bitter. So, who out of Aaron and Thea was going home? Aaron … but it wasn’t all bad. Michael offered him a gig at his new Oliver & Bonacini restaurant in Montreal.

MasterChef Canada airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on CTV.

Images courtesy of Bell Media.

More than a few of you were shocked by the end of last week’s episode of MasterChef Canada when Thea and Mai’s well-meaning coaching of Justine and Matt lead to both of the strong home cooks to be eliminated. But, Justine and Matt and Alice did have the opportunity to return to the kitchen, as producers presented those two with one slot in the competition.

Whether you think it’s fair that someone cut from a competition show is certainly up for debate—I personally don’t—it certainly makes for some good TV when those still in it see someone coming back. That was the case for the Top 6, who were gobsmacked when Alice returned. For those who missed it, Justine, Matt and Alice fought for a spot back on the show in Redemption, an online exclusive judged by Claudio Aprile. Alice outlasted the other two—head online to see what happened to Matt—and was back in the action.

However, “Egg Showdown,” wasn’t a love-in, as the Top 7 donned black aprons and were informed no one was safe from elimination this week. Again, mad props to MasterChef‘s producers, who have amped up the challenges and made it tough for the cooks to advance this year. Thursday’s instalment tasked everyone with escalating tests involving the most basic of ingredients: the egg. Cooks would win a Pressure Test and be sent up to the gallery with the final pair fighting to stay on the show.

First up was a Scotch egg, that hard-boiled, sausage and breading encased mouthful, purportedly eaten in pubs. Making the job even tougher? Just one egg was given to each cook, meaning it had to be perfect. I think Thea’s hands were seizing up because of the ice water bath her egg was sitting in, but I’m no expert. Regardless, she got her egg done and fried alongside her competitors. Barrie, who said he’d never prepared a hard-boiled egg before, produced the best Scotch egg and was whisked to safety along with Aaron and Thea.

The next test? Eggs Benedict. Hollandaise sauce can be a killer, though Miranda thought she had it nailed down. Of course, the most confident person had issues and Miranda’s Hollandaise started to split. Still, she got it done and her plate looked good. What about taste? Undercooked bacon and broken sauce threatened to send Miranda home. An overcooked yolk sent Alice into the final test with Miranda while Trevor and Mai were safe.

The two home cooks faced off to create a cheese soufflé, with just 30 minutes to do it. Miranda made all the right moves, getting firm peaks on her egg white and getting them in the oven on time. Alice contaminated her whites with some yolk and they refused to whip. Stunningly, and showing an incredible amount of class, Miranda helped Alice get her soufflé’s in the oven. Miranda could have stood back and watched Alice fall, but instead, she came to her aid. Miranda prepared three, so took the best-looking soufflé up for tasting and it wowed the judges, earning the chance to move on. For Alice, it was the end of the road, but she almost made it with help from Miranda.

Do you think Miranda should have helped Alice complete her dish? Let me know in the comments below.

MasterChef Canada airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CTV.

Images courtesy of Bell Media.

After a couple of really busy weeks where I wasn’t able to review MasterChef Canada—covering Canadian TV is a full-time job no matter what naysayers believe—it was great to return to the show and take some notes on it. This crop of home cooks has been very impressive so far; creating dishes that are the best-looking and tastiest the series has produced.

And though I love seeing a dish elevated, there is nothing like getting down to the basics, so I was particularly excited to see the remaining cooks grill up hamburgers for a group of men and ladies on motorcycles.

But “Burgers for Bikers” was no picnic, as the Top 9 quickly realized. (Shout out to the show’s producers for allowing Claudio to ride in on his motorcycle and cramming Alvin in a sidecar.) Two hundred hungry leather-clad folks rumbled into Toronto’s Evergreen Brickworks for meat and potatoes. Everyone has their own burger recipe—mine is lean ground beef, diced onion, egg, bread crumbs, barbecue sauce and Worcestershire sauce—so it was interesting to see how the red, green and blue teams were able to compromise and concoct something everyone was (mostly) happy with. Aaron’s leadership skills left Thea a bit cold—she didn’t think medium-rare, non-seasoned beef was the way to go—but that seemed to be the only concerns as prep work was underway … other than Mai keeping Justine and Miranda apart.

Service was, quite frankly, a nightmare. Having 200 people come running at once will do that, so it was expected. What wasn’t? Aaron’s decision to cook his burgers to order, a catastrophic move that sent hungry folks to the other two stations. Add to that not everyone likes medium rare and sent their patties back and the red team was reeling. It was no surprise his squad didn’t win. Instead, it was Mai’s green team that prevailed, proving she could lead a team and feed a hungry group.

Back in the MasterChef Canada kitchen, Aaron refused to apologize for medium-rare burgers and said he’d save himself from elimination if given the chance. That went counter to what his teammates thought but he did it anyway, sending Trevor and Thea into the Elimination Challenge. Alisha and Matt decided Barrie should be safe and he went up to the gallery to watch. The challenge was to make mille-feuille and Thea immediately brightened because she’s had experience baking.

To be honest, all of the desserts looked pretty good to me save for Alisha’s, and it came down to taste to decide who was going home. Tops were Thea and Matt with Alisha and Trevor taking a bit of a knock. Surprisingly, Alisha was cut not because of flavour but a pastry that wasn’t pretty.

Did you agree Alisha should have been eliminated? Let me know in the comments below.

MasterChef Canada airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on CTV.

Images courtesy of Bell Media.